One Two Three
by Colors del Cielo
Summary: No matter how many times he counted, it just didn't add up... Storms always cleared the way for a blue sky, yet one cannot exist while the other is present. What do you mean...Tsuna? Set in the future arc. Oneshot. Gokudera, Tsuna, and a little Yamamoto.


Hey, guys. It's Ryu! For Gokudera's birthday (9/9/11), I wrote this short and sweet fic examining the relationship between Gokudera and Tsuna, especially in the future arc. I tried to express TYL!Gokudera's thoughts through a reflective voice.

Shiro gave me the prompt: one two three – no matter how many times he counted, it just didn't add up

I hope you all enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and all associated characters (c) Amano Akira**

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**_(One...) it's enough to make me doubt_**

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He was a genius in all his academic studies (though he preferred to not show it). If his attitude and appearance were discounted, he would be a star student of Namimori Middle School. His excellent brains would never fit his delinquent bomber image, but he was grateful for his smarts.

"All the better to help the Tenth with homework," Gokudera thought.

"_Here, Tenth," he said. "If _x_ equals 1 in that equation, then _y_ would equal the square root of 3."_

"_Haha! But that's what I put down, Gokudera," Yamamoto smiled, scratching the back of neck._

"_Baseball idiot! You just guessed the right answer. Only retards would do that," Gokudera snarled._

_Tsuna let his head drop onto the table. _I do that a lot, Gokudera-kun...

"_Ah, Gokudera, but I'm not a retard."_

_Gokudera sneered at the athlete. "I beg to differ, idiot_. _You're always saying stupid things." He paused, but as soon as Yamamoto opened his mouth to respond, Gokudera added, "Like that time you said your favorite food was __**violet**__ spaghetti."_

"_Eh? But violet spaghetti does taste very yummy."_

_Gokudera punched him in the shoulder. "That's not the point, jerk! Agh, just go fail the test by yourself! Juudaime doesn't need you to help him study." He scoffed. "In fact, we don't even need you in the famiglia. A baseball idiot like you doesn't suit the mafia."_

_Yamamoto chuckled. "That's harsh, Gokudera."_

_Tsuna put up his hands to calm his friends. Exasperated, he said, "I think I've got this problem, Gokudera-kun. Can we work on this one now? I don't really get how to solve logarithmic functions..."_

"_Sure, Tenth!"_

Gokudera realized that the Tenth was not perfect. After all, why would the Tenth have the time to master complicated calculus formulas when he had a mafia family to organize? Honestly. Grades were definitely not as important as saving lives.

So, Gokudera put his feet up on his desk and leaned back. Like he cared if the teacher was taking points off.

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**_(Two...) why fly so high if you're afraid of falling?_**

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Sometimes, he found it hard to keep up. While the baseball idiot was learning a secret, invincible form from his father, Gokudera was blowing himself up in a forest clearing.

_Damn it... How am I supposed to be the Tenth's right-hand man if I can't even figure this out?_

He stared at the sky as the wind rustled his hair. Gokudera often marveled at the beautiful blue color contrasting the pure whiteness of the clouds. However, the sky of today was a dark, depressing gray.

_Why is it that on stormy days, you can't see the sky?_

Frustrated with his **everything**, he growled and closed his eyes. His clenched hands slowly loosened and the two sticks of dynamite he had been holding rolled a few centimeters away.

Gokudera startled himself when he felt wetness on his cheek. _Am I...?_

More wetness. _Ah, it must be raining._

...

_But then again, there can't possibly be a storm when you can see the sky, huh?_

Tomorrow, for sure. Tomorrow, he'd master this and show everyone that he could be the Tenth's right-hand man. They would beat the Varia, and Tsuna would eventually become the tenth boss of the dominating Vongola Famiglia. And he, Gokudera Hayato, would be able to defend the Tenth's back as he revolutionizes the mafia.

Because storms always cleared the way for a calm sky.

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**_(Three...) and so it comes full circle_**

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The day before, Gokudera knew something was up. Not the day before as in yesterday, but the day **before**. No, it was too late yesterday.

Late because yesterday he was dressed in solemn black and holding a bouquet of regret.

Late because he had already broken his promise to always protect the Tenth.

But he had come early today to settle things once and for all. And he needed the extra time he had if he walked slowly through the quiet woods. The ground, wet from the storm that had drowned all of Namimori, squelched beneath his shoes.

First, it was the little things. The Tenth didn't have the cup of coffee that he'd usually drink before locking himself in his office to do paperwork until lunch break. His tie was ridiculously crooked (_"Haha, seems like Tsuna was in a rush today...?" "Say what?" "Well, he looks kinda...rumpled?"_). Ah, but Gokudera didn't care enough to fix it.

Second, Tsuna was much too relaxed. Especially considering the tension that was practically tangible in the Vongola headquarters. He smiled too often even as his eyes looked past his Guardians' faces and far, far away...

_The sky is always at its aloof and lonely distance._

And he kept laughing like the baseball idiot had after finding out that his father had been found by the Millefiore.

Third and last, Tsuna asked an unusual (well, it was to Gokudera) request.

...

"_Lastly, we've seen some suspicious movement within the new Millefiore Famiglia," Gokudera reported._

_Tsuna sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Millefiore... That family formed from a merge of the Giglio Nero and Gesso Famiglias, right?"_

"_That's correct, Tenth."_

_Gokudera shuffled the papers in front of him, straightening them out before clipping them together. _

"_I just need to run a few errands, but I'll have time later in the evening to help you with paperwork, Tenth."_

_He turned and walked to the door. However, before he could make his exit, Tsuna stopped him._

"_Wait, Gokudera."_

"_Tenth?"_

"_There you go again!" Tsuna said._

_Gokudera was confused. "What? Tenth...?"_

_Tsuna looked slightly frustrated as he continued, "You always call me 'Tenth.' You've been calling me that ever since you met me ten years ago. Can't you just call me by my name?"_

"_Your name, Tenth? But...that would be disrespectful!" Gokudera protested. "A right-hand man wouldn't just call his boss by his first name!"_

_Rolling his eyes, Tsuna said, "It's precisely because you're my right-hand man and trusted friend that I want you to call me Tsuna. Yamamoto does it all the time without a problem."_

"_That's because he's only the left-hand, Tenth."_

"_Gokudera. My name is Tsuna," the boss of the Vongola Famiglia deadpanned._

"_...Yes, Ten— ...Tsuna."_

_Tsuna flashed a blinding smile (not one of the hollow ones he'd been sporting lately, but the kind of smile he used to give during a fireworks celebration in high school). He swiveled his chair back around so that he faced the blooming sakura tree outside the office window. The petals drifted towards the ground at a rate of five centimeters per second. _

Tsuna is just like a sakura flower: kind and gentle, but also with the strength and grace that allow him to shine above the rest,_ Gokudera thought._

_As if he heard, Tsuna faced his right-hand man again and lifted up the corners of his lips. "Thank you, Gokudera." He tipped his head in thanks. "As long as you use my name, I'll come to where you are if you need help. I promise."_

_The Vongola boss held out his hand with the pinky finger extended._

"_Ts-Tsuna?"_

_A long laugh. "It's just a pinky promise, Gokudera." He started to retract his finger, but Gokudera quickly hooked his own right pinky with Tsuna's._

"_Thank you for this honor, Tenth!"_

Whack.

_Gokudera rubbed his shoulder. Tsuna sighed. "Keep trying, Gokudera."_

...

Gokudera glanced down at the pinky finger now hooked on the handle of his suitcase. _Should I try it now?_

He stopped walking and tilted his head back towards the sky, closing his eyes.

_Tenth, can you hear me? Tsuna? Didn't you promise, Tsuna?_

_...Tsuna. _

_Tsuna. _

_**Tsuna**__. __**Tsuna! **_

_**tsunatsunatsunatsuna**_

"TSUNAAAA!" Gokudera shouted. The echoes of his cry sounded like a response for a moment, but he wasn't fooled.

"Hey, Tenth. What happened to your promise?" Even though Gokudera wanted to call him a liar, the thought didn't seem to be directed at his boss.

He sat down in the grass and opened his suitcase. A Vongola-stamped envelope, a grimy box weapon, his wallet, his cigarettes, a handkerchief, and a jewelry box.

Removing his notes from the envelope, he spread them out in front of him in a fan.

One... Two... Three... No matter how many times he counted, it just didn't add up. Too many clues pointing to one direction led him to only one conclusion.

Sawada Tsunayoshi had known that he was going to die at the meeting with the Millefiore.

Yet Gokudera also knew that the Tenth wouldn't have sacrificed himself for no good reason...right? But where were the better results that were supposed to have come at such a price? The damned Millefiore would celebrate for a finite amount of time before hunting down the rest of the Vongola Famiglia and finishing what they'd started.

_I once vowed to serve the Tenth through life and through death._

_**What a liar I am.**_

He fingered his weapons holster which housed some emergency dynamite, box weapons, rings, and bullets.

Three, two, one step until he reached the clearing.

Blinded for a moment in the bright light, he saw a very clear, blue sky.

_Ah... You're...!_

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_You kept your promise, Tenth._

_And, of course, my math is never wrong._


End file.
